Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 81

The Pre-Long Beach Sale

$5 Liberty/With Motto

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1279		A trio of Liberty Head $5 gold. Consists of: 1878, VF; 1881, XF; 1899, MS-60+. Lot of 3 coins. Estimated Value $900 - 950. View details	Realized $1,998
Lot 1280		1873. Closed 3. PCGS graded MS-64. Frosty with lovely light gold toning. In addition to authorizing coinage of the United States' first Nickel five-cent piece, the Act of March 3, 1865 mandated the inclusion of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on all circulating coins of sufficient size. The Half Eagle was the smallest gold denomination affected and, beginning in 1866, the motto duly took its assignment on a scroll that James Barton Longacre added to the upper-reverse field. The addition of this feature represents the last major design change in the durable Liberty Half Eagle series, 1839-1907. The gold stringency and limited P-mint deliveries necessitated by the outbreak of the Civil War continued through 1877, with many of the S and CC-mint issues from the 1866-1878 era are also very difficult to locate in all grades. This conditionally rare contribution to the sale is heavily frosted with rich gleaming gold surfaces. Impressive too is the strike, which we find is free of censure, being sharp in all areas including the stars and hair. Judged from an aesthetic standpoint, the coin is also possessed of a much finer strike than is typically found for a Mint State 64. Pop 5; 3 finer, 2 in 65, 1 in 66. (PCGS # 8329) . Estimated Value $6,500 - 7,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1281		1874-CC. PCGS graded AU-55. Mostly untoned. Strong residual luster plays on vivid reddish gold surfaces. Choice and problem-free for the grade, with only the tiniest of marks present when viewed under low magnification. Another notable rarity, this time from the Carson City Mint, one of 21,198 examples of the date struck. The standard for the 1874-CC is a well-circulated coin, Very Fine or Extremely Fine. Anything higher is especially rare. Regarding the About Uncirculated grade, Douglas Winter and Lawrence Cutler, suggested that this is in the middle range of Rarity-7, with, perhaps, six to eight pieces known in all of the numismatic world, since updated with the advent of third-party grading and the normal turnover of rarities collections, a few coming into the market each year. Just as swiftly for the 1874-CC, they return to the shadows where they may not appear again for ten or twenty years! The present coin among the finer ones we have cataloged in terms of its surface integrity and decent (if not bold) strike; it will be a treasure in the cabinet of its next owner. Pop 15; 9 finer, 7 in 58, 2 in 62. (PCGS # 8334) . Estimated Value $12,000 - 13,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $14,688
Lot 1282		1876. PCGS graded MS-63. Reflective surfaces with light gold toning. Only 1,432 struck, of which merely 45 examples are estimated to have survived. A glance at the mintage figures listed in the Guide Book should be enough to convince anyone that the 1876 is a rare coin in all grades. Considering so few business strikes were produced, survivors tend to be circulated to one degree or another; only a few choice pieces exist; first-hand experience that seems to square quite nicely with current Population Data for the issue. Easily qualifying as mid-level Condition Census, therefore, this warmly patinated example exhibits somewhat rose-gold color over both sides. Extended brightness discernible in the fields at the most direct light angles, but we would describe the finish as satiny rather than semi-Prooflike. The strike is definitely sharp over the central highpoints, though not excessively so, and the only worthwhile provenance indicator is a small toned spot in the reverse field below FI of FIVE. Clearly, this coin represents a find of the highest importance for advanced collectors of 19th century gold.Pop 2; 6 finer, 4 in 64, 2 in 65. (PCGS # 8339) . Estimated Value $18,000 - 20,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $24,675
Lot 1283		1878-S. NGC graded MS-63. Well struck and fully untoned. With flattering mint luster and a minimum number of wispy abrasions, this vivid gold coin is every bit the choice one and well-established in its conservative �63� grade. Sheer boldness of strike throughout, as was standard for S-mint dates 1878 and later (some earlier issues were hit or miss). Pop 6; 4 finer, 3 in 64, 1 in 64+. (PCGS # 8347) . Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,525
Lot 1284		1879. PCGS graded MS-64. Well struck and untoned. Resplendent surfaces that are thoroughly frosted with keen-edged, with the noteworthy golden luster spiraling outward from the centers and somewhat reflective in a few areas. Devices were struck with the primary energy required to impart the design to the outer areas around Liberty as well as enough vigor by the dies to impart clear-cut centers to the portrait and the eagle with its shield. This is a not well-known trait of dates in the 1870s, often these are found less than sharp. Pop 13; 8 finer, 4 in 64+, 3 in 65, 1 in 66. (PCGS # 8348) . Estimated Value $3,200 - 3,400. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1285		1880. Sharpness of AU-53. Estimated Value $320 - 340. View details	Realized $364
Lot 1286		1882-CC. PCGS graded MS-61. Frosty and untoned. Only 82,817 struck. A beautiful, frosty-gold MS61, there are no unsettling bagmarks on either side and the luster beams with lovely pinkish gold hues. Fresh and original. Broadly and well struck on the legends and main device, as well, which oddly enough is usual for '82-CC and one of the better struck Half Eagles from this mint. Everything shows bold detail at the centers and on the legends and stars. Pop 10; 6 finer in 62. (PCGS # 8359) . Historic Note: Randy Goe, in his account of the coins minted at Carson, Nevada, has this to say about the 1882-CC $5: "After years of declining gold coin production at the Carson City Mint, 1882 brought on a slight resurgence. New mineral ore discoveries had been made on the Comstock, producing yields that previously would have hardly aroused attention, but in these lean times, it helped. Miners realized that lower outputs were not worth negotiating with out of state brokers, making it more expedient to deposit their bullion at the Carson Mint. "As a result, double eagle coinage was resumed and gold coin production increased from $309,580 in 1881 to over $1.26 million in 1882. Gold eagles accounted for only 5½% of this total, as half eagle production reached record levels. "This proved to be Carson City's most productive year for half eagles in its first 13 years of operation… Yet because of the large quantity minted, the number of pieces that circulated locally was substantially greater than any other dates from the 1870s and 1880s…". Estimated Value $8,000 - 8,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $10,575
Lot 1287		1884 and 1892-S. Coins will grade VF to EF. Lot of 2 coins. Estimated Value $550 - 600. View details	Realized $705
Lot 1288		1891-CC. PCGS graded MS-62. Well struck and naturally toned to a light golden-orange. Quite scarce in the Mint State grades and in our opinion, a Premium Quality coin for the given grade. Housed in an old green label holder (PCGS # 8378) . Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,290
Lot 1289		1893. NGC graded MS-65. Frosty with delicate golden russet toning. A radiant Half Eagle featuring the With Motto reverse scroll above the eagle, and fully original with lovely gold color that rises and falls in an almost rhythmic display. This is a strongly struck example, as well, with gem-quality detail to all the important high points due to a firm blow from the coining dies. Pop 59; 15 finer (PCGS # 8383) . Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1290		1899. Sharpness of XF-45. Estimated Value $225 - 250. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1291		1904. PCGS graded MS-66. Lovely well struck coin. This example, illustrative of the Gem quality seen in its grade class, has iridescent gold surfaces and no spotting. Has the classic high quality standards of other P-mint Half Eagles, this 1904 also displays a precision strike on the legends and main device, which is par for the date, fortunately not even a trace of soft detail at the stars. Pop 17; 5 finer in 67. (PCGS # 8409) . Estimated Value $4,800 - 5,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1292		1907. PCGS graded MS-66 CAC Approved. A brilliant intensely lustrous satiny mint gem, untoned. Worthy of a premium bid. Final year of the With Motto $5 Type, first used in 1866. The series lasted from 1839 until 1907, when it was superceded by the new Indian Head coin. The Half Eagle was the workhorse gold coin denomination of the 19th to early 20th century, used in trade but also in internal US commerce. It had similar sized counterparts throughout the world such as the British sovereign, German 20 mark, Swiss 20 franc, Russian 20 ruble, and so forth. The steady flow of P-mint deliveries in the late 1890s and early 1900s decade insures collectors will find adequate supplies of circulated and uncirculated specimens. Though in fact, Gems are much more elusive since these were heavily abraded in bank to bank transfers. Not easily located in Gem Mint State 66 condition. Pop 21; none finer at PCGS. Estimated Value $5,000 - 5,500. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold